The hanging of a picture generally involves a person using his hands to support a picture on a wall to check for the desired picture position, and placing pencil marks on the wall to record the desired position. Then a hook position is estimated, at which a hook can be mounted which will support the picture wire so that the picture will lie at the desired picture position. Next, a hook device, comprising a hook and a push fastener such as a nail or staple, is mounted on the wall as by hammering the fastener into the wall. Finally, the picture is placed near the wall and manipulated so the picture wire moves down into a hook part of the hook device. These several steps can be time consuming for amateurs, especially when a large number of pictures are to be hung, as when a family moves to a new home. Also, the pictures do not always lie at the desired position due to difficulty in estimating the effect of picture wire bending.
A variety of devices have been proposed to aid person's in placing marks on a wall to indicate where the hook must be fastened. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,776 describes a device with a hook for supporting a picture through the picture wire, and which has a marking tip for marking the wall, or a pin or tack for creating a small hole to mark the wall. While such devices help, they still require lifting the picture to the desired position, operating a marking device, removing the picture, hammering in a hook device, and manipulating the picture so the picture wire will move down into the hook. A picture hanging tool which required only a single positioning of the picture to hang it, would be useful, especially where a large number of pictures are to be hung.